Aurora Equine - Emma Criniti

25/07/2025

👍Absolutely 💯

When a horse learns how to learn, think and relax as the basis of their foundation, anything is possible. When two way communication is part of the horse’s life, they can ask questions, think through new situations, and ask for help when they need it.

When they are taught to perform movements, behaviors and learn cues as the basis of their foundation, they are only able to perform within the context of those tricks they learned, and will become unconfident or even dangerous when out of their “box”

23/07/2025

Today I treated this beautiful girl, before the session it was all love and licks then after session fully zonked out 🤣🥰💤💤💤

22/07/2025

👍

One of the hardest things to learn about in hand work is focus on our own balance. I’ve learned so much about how I walk, when I lock my knees, when I rush or scramble, or when I tune out my body. I’ve learned a tremendous amount about moving in a better way for my back and knees, and because of years of serious in hand lessons, my body feels better than ever.

It gives me huge insight into how I aim to make the horses feel- rhythmic, balanced, light on their feet and able to go in any direction with ease. Soft bend in the knees, breathing deeply and focused.

It sounds simple, but learning to master your own body is far, far harder than getting a horse to do anything. People come to in hand hoping to learn to teach the horse something, but if you take it seriously, you find a world of lessons about yourself and your own balance opened up to you.

12/07/2025

I find this true, once the human focuses the horses become less spooky when getting good guidance both on the ground and undersaddle.

Is the horse really spooky, unfocused, and so on - or is the human lacking the ability to guide?

This is a hard pill to swallow but an important one. Stay with me before you get all upset, because it’s not personal and it’s not just you - it’s the human condition

We go to quick work labeling the horse: bird brained, spooky, unfocused, ADHD - whatever we call the horse.

But if horses were designed to be so unfocused, nature would have eliminated them.

They are not unfocused, they are not focused in our presence. Big difference.

We can teach focus by creating calming parameters - requiring self discipline, awareness , and - you guessed it- focus ourselves.

Or we can teach the horse to feel more anxious and feel the need to become hypervigilant or seek comfort everywhere but us by not guiding adequately.

Some horses are more sensitive than others and need you to be there EVERY second.
Others can get by on a lot less.

But no horse can be focused without a person being there mentally. They can go through the motions , making us feel like they’re with us - but that just speaks to how tuned out we really are when we’re satisfied with that.

In a lesson, I often work hard to keep the student focused - to keep the chatter from taking over. To keep the “but what about…” monster at bay. To keep the random distracted thoughts jumping far ahead of where we are from leaving this moment.

It takes a LOT of work to teach a person to stay tuned into the lesson step for step without their thoughts scattering around like bowling pins -

And I’m not judging. My teachers worked hard on me too. It’s not an easy task.

But I found horses I was describing as spooky suddenly become very calm when i focused - and so we have to accept the cold hard truth -

We don’t often know this horse at all. We’re seeing a projection and labeling it as who they are. And that’s very unfair to a horse.

11/07/2025

🙌

Be #1!
Being number one in your horse's life is incredibly important. Why? One word: trust.

But what does it really mean to be your horse’s number one?

It means you’re in charge—not in a forceful or dominating way, but in a responsible, caring way. You are in charge of everything that affects your horse’s physical and mental well-being:

Their safety

Their confidence

Their health

Their comfort

Their emotional security

When your horse believes that you’re always on the lookout—that you’ll alert them to danger, keep them safe, and guide them with fairness—they’ll relax in new environments. When they understand that the work you ask of them helps their body feel better and their mind stay focused, they’ll willingly engage. When they know you’ll be there for them in scary moments, they’ll become braver.

Yes, being number one means setting boundaries and expectations—but those must be fair, clear, and achievable. As your horse learns and grows, your standards can evolve too. But they must always remain fair.

Being #1 isn’t about control. It’s about leadership.
A true number one is trusted, followed, and admired.
A false number one relies on fear and force.

So be the one your horse looks to—not because they have to, but because they want to.

09/07/2025

🙌

Acceptance of the bit? Or resiging to it?

What’s the difference?

Acceptance is a quiet mouth, a happy body and a horse who willingly reaches out to your hand- because the body is able. Like a handshake, a dance, a hug- it isn’t coerced, it is nurtured and then allowed.

Resignation is a horse who is repeatedly put back into a feeling desired by the rider, whenever they resist. It can be done “softly,” but it is repeatedly done by the mouth, until the horse learns to not resist.

There is a world of difference in the body feel between acceptance and resignation, and two very different ways of going.

07/07/2025

🙌💕👍Yes Yes Yes 🙌

The Power of Slow: Why Slow Work Is Beneficial for Horses

In a world where fast-paced training, high-level competition, and immediate results often take the spotlight, the value of slow, deliberate work with horses is sometimes overlooked. Yet, slow work is one of the most powerful, foundational tools in developing a sound, balanced, and mentally healthy horse—regardless of discipline or breed.

Whether you're bringing on a young horse, rehabbing an older one, or simply trying to build a better partnership, slow work is essential. Here’s why.

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1. Builds Strong, Healthy Muscles and Soft Tissue

One of the most important reasons to include slow work in your training is its effect on the musculoskeletal system:

Encourages correct muscle development over the back, shoulders, and hindquarters

Reduces the risk of strain injuries by gradually conditioning ligaments and tendons

Strengthens core muscles that support balance, posture, and self-carriage

When horses move slowly, they must engage their bodies more mindfully, using strength and stability rather than momentum. This leads to correct movement patterns and long-term soundness.

Slow work also asks the joints to flex more.

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2. Enhances Balance, Coordination, and Proprioception

Slow work helps horses:

Find their balance without rushing

Improve coordination as they become more aware of where their feet are

Develop better body control through transitions, bending, and straightness

This is especially important for young horses, horses returning from injury, or those struggling with crookedness or tension. By removing speed, you give the horse time to understand and organize its body.

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3. Supports the Horse's Mind and Nervous System

Fast work can easily overstimulate a horse—particularly young, anxious, or sensitive ones. Slow work:

Calms the nervous system

Encourages focus and thoughtfulness

Builds confidence through repetition and clarity

Reduces tension and mental resistance

A relaxed horse is a thinking horse. Slow work allows them to understand what's being asked without triggering their flight instinct.

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4. Teaches Body Awareness and Responsiveness

In slow work, every step counts. This helps the horse become more:

Responsive to light aids

Aware of their body placement

Willing to carry themselves rather than rely on the rider or speed

This kind of responsiveness builds the base for higher-level maneuvers later, whether that’s collection, lateral work, jumping, or precise movements in a show ring.

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5. Prepares the Horse for More Advanced Work

You can’t build brilliance on an unstable foundation. Slow work is the groundwork for:

Collection and engagement

Suppleness and straightness

Rhythm and regularity

Lateral work and transitions

Skipping slow work may get quick results short-term, but it often leads to physical issues, behavioral resistance, or training holes down the line.

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6. Benefits for Riders, Too

It’s not just the horse who benefits—slow work helps riders:

Improve their feel and timing

Develop a softer, more independent seat

Build better communication and trust

Address their own balance and posture

By slowing everything down, riders can become more aware of subtle changes and learn to work with the horse instead of pushing against resistance.

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How to Incorporate Slow Work

Here are a few simple ways to bring more slow work into your training:

Long, slow walks (in hand or under saddle) to build muscle and calm the mind

Pole work at the walk to engage the core and improve body awareness

Lateral work (shoulder-in, leg yield, turn on the forehand) at walk or slow trot

Slow, controlled transitions between and within gaits

Hill work at the walk for strength and balance

Stretching and bending exercises to loosen and align the body

Consistency is key. These don't need to be long sessions—just thoughtful and regular.

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Conclusion

Slow work isn’t “easy” or “lazy”—it’s intelligent, intentional, and incredibly effective. By removing speed, we give the horse time to learn, strengthen, and settle. Whether you’re working toward competition or simply building a better relationship with your horse, embracing the value of slow work will reward you with a more balanced, supple, and confident partner.

01/07/2025

Yes 🙌

Good back to front riding, in essence, is about educating the hind leg. It’s about teaching the horse to flex the joints downward, so the front legs can flex upward. It’s about creating swinging, suppleness, stability, and a swinging, moving back.

To get this, the rider commits to becoming stable and supple themsleves. They commit to the discipline of learning to use aids subtly with good timing, and to never use an aid outside of their own center: the emphasis is on the seat, and so the hand is never a solution to a stability problem. The rider gains over time the discipline to check themsleves first: to not make knee jerk corrections to the horse when it’s likely the rider has lost center, feel, rhythm, or swing. It is a commitment to responsibility to be what you want the horse to be- to provide a balanced opening forward, not to chase, prod, beg, or threaten the horse into balance (which is an oxymoron and an impossibility)

This way of riding creates a very confident horse who is calm but energetic. One who can breathe deeply, feel unafraid of the aids but understands they are actually their friend , one who has very comfortable gaits to ride because of their suppleness. It creates long term soundness and best of all, it creates a deep and lasting friendship between horse and person.

The reason for so much pushing and holding Is because it’s easy and requires no real
Self discipline from the rider - the focus is all about making the horse take a shape and go forward. It’s cheap and easy enough to learn quickly.

The reason so little high quality back to front riding can be seen is because of the arduous commitment to better positioning and mind frame development - to be flexible mentally while maintaining commitment.

It could take two lifetimes to get it. I’m not perfect at it now, but I am committed to learning and grateful for the guidance toward the most beautiful way of being with a horse I’ve discovered. Some days it feels incredible, other days too difficult to manage. Some days I miss feeling like I know what I’m doing. But overall I adore the art, and the self development required.

If it were easy everyone would be doing it -

22/06/2025

True this 👍

21/06/2025

👍💕This

Good intentions don’t counter sloppy tool handling

As the horse world shifts into intention, relationship and the more emotional side of work, we are losing one very important thing: good technique

If you want to be a musician, you have to practice your scales. This can be boring but necessary.

Once the technique is accurate, you can create art, express emotion, even break the rules and create something totally unique as many artists have.

But if you don’t learn to handle your line with care, to make sure the feel inside you is being conveyed to the horse through your body through the line, your intentions often won’t get to where you wanted them to go.

Many people relying on inner feeling are neglecting the technique, and the feeling being transmitted to the horse is poor, sloppy, confusing, even scary.

I’ve spent many hours with my teachers refining the way I hold the lead line, the flag, the lunge line, the way I pick up my reins - over and over again until it’s the right feel for what I’m trying to say. Inside me was always a good intention, but the horse can’t hear it if our technique is jarring.

Practice your scales. Be willing to take critique on the most basic things you do and take it seriously. That’s what makes riders and horse people truly great with horses - good intentions and listening to podcasts about emotionalism and spiritualism can set the tone, but then you have to get the skill to communicate that with the horse, and that requires elbow grease

16/06/2025

Nothing beats a Monday morning session getting lots of smooches from this adorable guy 🥰😝👍💕

13/06/2025

A sad day in our horse world when an Australian Olympic Champion is resorting to brutal training like this!

Even if this was this horses last resort before the knackery he should of tried to find the reason why the horse won’t go forward or was behaving the way it was with empathy and normally it will be pain causing the issue so get a vet, farrier, bodyworker to check it over and do some retraining but dont flog it 42 times. What does anyone think that is truly going to achieve! The mind boggles 🤬🤯😭

A statement was immediately issued after the shocking vision went viral. 📌 DETAILS: 7news.link/43RKDQ5